THQ: Wii U is not a uDraw killer

There's one peripheral that might get immediately overshadowed by the fervor of the Wii U.

However, THQ says its uDraw tablet - a special touch-pad controller for the Wii - will remain in business.

The uDraw is essentially like a crude version of the Wii U controller. That is, it relies on touch input to interact with supported games.

However, it's not a touch screen. Players need the special uDraw stylus to use it, and there is no screen on the peripheral itself.

Put in simplest terms, the Wii U will easily be able to do everything the uDraw does, and strides more.

We asked THQ if the fate of the relatively nascent drawing tablet is thrown into question with the Wii U, but a uDraw producer told us there are no plans to end support for the device.

More than 1.7 million uDraw units have been sold, and it was a hot item on last year's holiday gift list. The favorite game, by far, is the bundled-in Pictionary.

However, rather than focus on uDraw's Wii future, we were directed to the fact that the peripheral is coming out for the PS3 and Xbox 360 - markets where the Wii U is a non issue.

Sporting HD support and true touch-screen capabilities, the enhanced uDraw for PS3 and Xbox 360 is the more interesting story. If the Wii U manages to take off, THQ can come in and tout its ability to have similar touch input gaming on the non-Nintendo systems.

And even though there are no plans to outright abandon the Wii uDraw, there are also apparently no plans to enhance it. The newer, more advanced version of the device for PS3 and Xbox 360 is not coming to the Wii.

So there is no end in sight for uDraw, but it will probably have to nestle in its new home on the HD, non-Wii U platforms.